1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to automotive transaxles and more specifically to an improved lubrication arrangement for the final gear thereof.
2. Description of the Prior Art
In a previously proposed transaxle arrangement, namely the "RN3F01A" type automatic transaxle manufactured by the NISSAN MOTOR CO., LTD, an oil gutter has been provided which collects oil splashed up by the transmission gear train and directs same into the differential gear of the final drive unit. However, this arrangement has suffered from the drawback that it is difficult to ensure that an adequate supply of oil is fed to the final drive unit under all operating conditions of the vehicle. That is to say, under given inclinations and/or vibrations of the vehicle the lubricating oil is apt not to flow as intended into the differential gear housing.
One possible method of overcoming this problem is to inject some of the fluid used to operate the servo units of the transmission (viz., hydraulic fluid at line pressure) into the final gear unit. However, this arrangement requires the transmission to be equipped with a pump having an increased discharge capacity and results in a larger, bulkier arrangement which consumes otherwise usable amounts of engine output.